The U.S. dollar is losing value.  The record U.S. foreign trade deficit last year is growing only worse this year and is finally forcing a decline in the value of the dollar.  Not a moment too soon, and much later than would have been preferable.  Free Trade theory relies on shifting currency values to balance […]

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Gas prices are spiking again and predictably all the politicians are getting nervous and starting to puff about "investigations " again.  Doesn’t that sound familiar to you?  I seem to remember "gas gouging investigations and hearings" being held not too long ago.  Last year in fact.
What happened with that?  Nothing of course, because they are […]

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The U.S. government made news today by filing a trade violation charge with the E.U. against China at the World Trade Organization.  Its long overdue and nowhere near sufficient to break the many barriers erected to free trade by China, but at least it is a move in the right direction.  Here’s the lede from […]

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If you have been watching the news lately you will have seen a few reports about rioting in France again, this time with the actual native French youth who are upset at a new labor law.  There’s a lot of commentary from the Right side of the blogosphere about how they are misguided and economically […]

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You probably won’t hear much on the news about the protests of the ‘French Youths’ this time, because, well… they are actually French Youths this time.  This time the term ‘French Youths’ is not being used in politically correct fashion to describe African/Muslim Youths, but is instead actually talking about ethnic French kids.  Confusing I […]

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President Bush’s policies on domestic security and international trade create effects that are logically foreseeable and politically powerful.  There are positive benefits obviously, and that is the intention.  But the negative effects have been ignored for many reasons, and in being ignored they have grown in the darkness to be much more powerful than they […]

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Jim Geraghty on TKS at NationalReview.com has written lately about the movement in the American public that he sees as a ‘Tipping Point’ in our view of Muslims.  I highly recommend reading at least two of his recent posts on the subject.  Here’s a quote from the original post :

I stand by my reaction of […]

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I’m conflicted really.  Is it good that the UAE will be taking over all or parts of 6 US ports?  I can’t say that makes me happy.  Then again I’m not happy with any foreign corporations owning critical domestic US assetts.  But to be realistic the worry of infiltration by terrorist elements is the central […]

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The idea of socializing health care is supposedly gaining strength in the electorate here in the US.  It might help if citizens understood there is more to it than getting "free" health care.  Besides the fact that nothing in life is truly free, there are specific and worrisome problems with socialized health care.  There is […]

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So the Bush Administration says they are going to get tough with China on its trading policies today.  Color me skeptical.  No domestic politician since Reagan has shown any interest in actually exercising proper oversight of our trading relationships.  I seriously doubt Bush is now.  But he seems to have gotten the memo that the […]

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More coverage of the record trade deficits this year in today’s article in the Washington Post entitled U.S. Trade Deficit Hangs In a Delicate Imbalance.  Its actually does a reasonably good job pointing out some of the dynamics involved.  And there is the choice quote from the typically clueless economist:
"We get cheap goods in exchange […]

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The process of trading away everything of value in the U.S. in exchange for cheap junk continues at an ever increasing pace in fresh news reports out today.  There are several stories out covering government reports of the spiraling trade deficit.  Links here and here.  A few choice quotes from the articles:

Washington Post:  The trade […]

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Thanks to the RealClearPolitics blog for thier post today about Delphi’s recent offer to the UAW, go see it here.  To sum it up quickly, Delphi faces total collapse if the union does not accept this offer.  Delphi is so uncompetitive compared to foreign competition because of the situation the UAW contracts have put them […]

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Some thoughts on Michael Barones comments about a Greenspan speech.

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